


early mornings with you

by jademariegreggo



Category: EastEnders (TV)
Genre: M/M, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-15
Updated: 2020-03-15
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:00:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23162128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jademariegreggo/pseuds/jademariegreggo
Summary: It was a semi-regular occurrence that Ben and Callum ended up sleeping at each others house - usually under the guise of having too much to drink and crashing on the sofa.or the one where Ben has to leave for work and Callum really doesn't want him to leave
Relationships: Callum "Halfway" Highway/Ben Mitchell
Kudos: 57





	early mornings with you

It was a semi-regular occurrence that Ben and Callum ended up sleeping at each others house - usually under the guise of having too much to drink and crashing on the sofa. Only the street lights illuminated the paths as Callum hastily grabbed his prepacked duffel bag and ran to the only house with lights on still. He quietly tapped on the door, knowing full well Ben was stood waiting on the other side to let him in straight away.

“Missed you today,” was all Callum said as he stepped into the warmth.

“Missed you too,” whispered Ben as he stretched up to kiss the man stood before him. A muffled giggle was shared between the couple when they realised that, despite both being in their twenties, they were acting like a teenage girl sneaking her boyfriend into the house once her parents were asleep. Once safe in the confines of Ben’s bedroom, Callum realised he had no clothes to sleep in, having forgotten to pack them in his excitement. “Babe, you left clothes here last time, washed ‘em an’ all,” explained Ben when he pulled a freshly folded set of trackies and t-shirt.

** ** **

It was just after 8:30am when the realisation of being in an empty bed hit first Callum. He looked round the room to see Ben, his glasses and the pile of clothes he’d picked out last night had all disappeared.

The sound of running water coming from the bathroom suddenly stopped and the footsteps moving towards the door grew louder. Callum was preparing to explain why he was sat shirtless in a house he did not live in, just in case the heavy tread belonged to the leader of the Mitchell clan. Luckily, the door swung open and Ben peered round the corner, showing his clean shaven face and damp hair.

“You looked so peaceful, di’nt want to wake you up babe.” He sat himself on the bed beside Callum, running his fingers through the older man’s bed hair. “I’ve got work but y’can stay here until I’m back,” he explained as he leant down to carefully place a kiss on Callum’s forehead. Weighing up the pros and cons of staying in bed until he returned, Callum pulled Ben down to lie beside him. “I have to go babe, but I’ll be back soon and we can have the movie day we planned last week,” reasoned the mechanic desperately using all his willpower to not call in sick. The urge to roll over and go back to sleep was beginning to overpower the older man; however the anxiety that came with being in the Mitchell house alone was also starting to rear its ugly head.

“Come mine when you’re done at the garage. Stuart is taking Rainie out for the weekend so my place is empty.” One day the pair would be comfortable in each other’s houses - both with or without one another - but while things were still being treated like a top secret spy mission, they’d rather not risk any awkward questions. “I can cook for us. You staying over?” It was a silly question to ask, Callum knew, but the confirmation gave him something to look forward to and somewhat make up for their morning together being cut short.

The couple were midway through cementing their plans when Callum’s phone started ringing. The photo of him and Jay that Lola took on a night out a few weeks ago flashed up on his screen - meaning the call was most likely to ask something about the funeral parlour. “Guess I’m off to work too.”

“I’ll walk you over.” There was a frantic rush as the pair searched the room for Callum’s undertaker suit that he’d swapped for the clothes he was handed when he arrived last night. Both were silently hoping nobody - _especially not Jay_ \- twigged on to the fact he had the same outfit on as the previous day. They could already hear the jokes and comments from Lola when she got word of it. No matter how hard they tried, there was no throwing Lola off the scent of their developing relationship; she’d been adamant since the day they met that she would be bridesmaid at the “ _Ballum_ ” wedding.

Once they were both decent, Ben ran ahead to be sure there was no one downstairs waiting to burst their bubble of secrecy. He knew Sharon had a hospital appointment but Phil was a wild card and impossible to predict at the best of times. After a short wait, Callum’s phone lit up again. This time the lock screen showing a strip of Photo Booth pictures of the pair was obscured by a message from downstairs.

 **Ben** : _you can come down now x_

He raced down the stairs and pulled Ben close, trying to steal a kiss in the kitchen, where they had shared many in the past.

The final step of their carefully crafted (and well practiced) escape plan was Ben heading outside to see if anyone was nearby. Another text pinged through.

 **Ben** : _it’s safe out, unless you find cats to be particularly threatening x_

 **Callum** : _I told Jay not to tell you about that x_

Away from the prying eyes of Albert Square, the young lovers managed to sneak a chaste kiss goodbye before going their separate ways. Callum would be lying if he said he didn’t watch Ben walk from Coker & Mitchell across to the garage. And Ben would never admit that he looked back to check Callum made it into the building okay before pulling out his phone to text him.

 **Ben** : _Miss you already xx_

 **Callum** : _Miss you too xx_

 **Ben** : _See you after work babe xx_

 **Callum** : _can’t wait love xx_


End file.
